[December 29, 2011]
--"Jesus replied, ĎA
man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the
hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving
him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and
when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a
Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the
other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when
he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his
wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his
own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him."-Luke 10:
30-35

The parable of the good Samaritan is familiar to many of us who have
spent even a small amount of time in the church. The point of the
parable is basically this; we are called to love our neighbor and
everyone is our neighbor. It is the last bit that makes things the
most challenging. It is easy to love people we like; to love people
who treat us well; to love people who need help we can easily
provide. It is another thing entirely to love people who don't meet
those categories, like most of the people in the world. This means
that being a Christian is, as we now know, hard work.

But consider this for a moment. There are over 2 billion Christians
in the world. More people are Christian than any other religion. If
all of us, and certainly all of us in the United States, applied
this teaching of Jesus', if we saw all people as our neighbor, what
might the world look like. Most of the problems in this world are
rooted in an absence of love, an absence of empathy, an absence of
compassion. Most of the problems exist because there are too many
levites, too many priests. With this in mind, we would be wise to
consider how we might live, how we might act, to turn the tide. None
of us alone can chance the world, or alleviate the suffering of our
fellow humans, but each of us has the opportunity to be a good
neighbor in our own daily lives.
Each of us can be more aware to the issues and needs of others, and
in so doing, we can begin to sow the seeds of peace, love and hope.

Prayer: Holy God, help me to serve you better, and to be a
good neighbor. Help me to recognize those who are in need, and give
me the wisdom and strength to serve them. I pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.